


The Ghost

by NightOwlsTeaParty



Category: Watch Dogs (Video Games)
Genre: BIG Heads up there, F/M, Horatio clara and defalt arent dead cuz fuck you, I FOUND THE RIGHT WORD TO DESCRIBE READER'S GENDER IDENTITY IN THE FIC, I like marcus with both horatio and sitara and i couldnt choose who to put him with so i did both, Josh is ace, M/M, Multi, Not Beta Read, Reader is AFAB - Freeform, Reader is Agender, Reader is nicknamed but not named, Reader radiates big brat energy, Slow Burn, So some characters WILL refer to them differently from other characters, They prefer They/Them but don't care, and wrench is big pan, because i'm a bi whose never made a decision in my life, i said so, let a person dream, marcus is a fuckin disaster bi, reader is genderfluid at work but flux out of work, reader was part of Chicago Dedsec, smut later, then moved to San Francisco
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-31
Updated: 2020-03-31
Packaged: 2021-02-28 18:08:46
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,116
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23191414
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NightOwlsTeaParty/pseuds/NightOwlsTeaParty
Summary: The Chicago Dedsec branch struck up a deal with the San Fran Dedsec branch and the two will start working more closely from now on. The Chicago branch also believes that giving a few people from their “clean up” crew would help out the other branch significantly and luckily for both of them, you happened to already be moving to San Francisco with your family.Funny enough. You meet the man who unintentionally coaxed you into joining Dedsec in the first place.“Wait, hold up. As in,TheGhost? The one who helped out The Fox?”“They say whenever you took a job, the victims would disappear without a trace. A recording of their crying would be left on the premise, acting as their ghost wails.”“Oh, am I a household name already? Oh, how embarrassing.”On Hiatus until I can finish other fics I planned/find a comfortable chapter (on the other fics) to pause
Relationships: Clara Lille/Aiden Pearce, Horatio Carlin/Marcus Holloway, Horatio Carlin/Sitara Dhawan/Marcus Holloway, Sitara Dhawan/Marcus Holloway, Wrench (Watch Dogs)/Reader
Comments: 6
Kudos: 36





	1. Moving Day

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first Watch dogs fic I've written so I'm sorry if anyone seems too OOC. One big difference would be that Marcus's group doesn't kill unless absolutely necessary. Aiden and Reader on the other hand are a bit more... Morally Ambiguous at times.
> 
> ALSO! Reader is Asian (Specifically Southeast Asian), I try my best to to mention it too often (Mostly with their family and a passing comment) so you guys can still relate to them more. Also, certain characters will have their own pronouns for reader cuz they don't know (i.e Marcus says He/him but Ray calls them She/her). They also have a certain kind of body type similar to mine, but like the race, it won't be mentioned too often! Different pronouns will be like this until a certain point so I am sorry if you aren't into that!
> 
> EDIT: Found the more correct term to call reader! In tags now!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the first Watch dogs fic I've written so I'm sorry if anyone seems too OOC. One big difference would be that Marcus's group doesn't kill unless absolutely necessary. Aiden and Reader on the other hand are a bit more... Morally Ambiguous at times.
> 
> ALSO! Reader is Asian (Specifically Southeast Asian), I try my best to to mention it too often (Mostly with their familiy and a passing comment) so you guys can still relate to them more. Also, certain characters will have their own pronouns for reader cuz they don't know (i.e Marcus says He/him but Ray calls them She/her). They also have a certain kind of body type similar to mine, but like the race, it won't be mentioned too often! Different pronouns will be like this until a certain point so I am sorry if you aren't into that!

God, who fuckin’ knew moving was gonna be hell on your back? You had already packed everything from your room and started helping your family with the rest of the packing up. Boxes are now your worst goddamn enemy, at this point a close second to Blume.

So, the Chicago Dedsec branch struck up a deal with the San Fran Dedsec branch and the two will start working more closely from now on. The Chicago branch also believes that giving a few people from their “clean up” crew would help out the other branch significantly and luckily for both of them, you happened to already be moving to San Francisco with your family. 

“Hey pumpkin, could you get some of these boxes for me?” Your mother comes into the room, interrupting your glaring battle with the room full of boxes (of which you were totally winning), with a tower of _even more_ boxes in her arms. Quickly, you took half of the stacked boxes in her arms and placed them with the pile, you can now see her tired eyes that were previously covered by cardboard.

“Thank you, pumpkin. My arms were killing me,” Your mother emphasized her point by stretching out her arms and a few popping noises accompanied the movements. “So, how are you feeling about the move? I know we’ve lived in this house since you were a baby but… A change of scenery is always nice. Right?” You let out a little sigh. You really are going to miss those places you’d go to as a kid. The Honeymoon Cafe, that Thai restaurant, hell you’re gonna miss that damn dog that would bark through the night every day. 

“Plus you can always make new friends over there!” You know your mom was trying to comfort you but, making friends was never your strong suit in the first place. Plus…

“Mom, I’m 20 years old now.” 

“Just cause you’re 20 it doesn’t mean you can’t make friends.”

“I take classes online and stay inside for weeks straight half the time. The other half being at work. ” Work being, well, Dedsec. Clients always preferred going at night. Granted, cleaning up the area during the day is much harder than at night considering all the bystanders during these jobs.

“Oh! You should be able to make friends with your new coworkers at the other branch then! Speaking of work, that reminds me, sweetie. Make sure to bring mace with you whenever you get back home. I don’t know why you’re so adamant on keeping this job, you work so late!” It’s not like mace is gonna fully stop someone. Especially not the kinds of guys you deal with on the daily.

“It plays really well!” Might not have insurance, but, still. Clients pay good money. “And anyway, by that logic, _you_ should have been able to make friends with your old coworkers too.”

“That’s different, honey. I hated my old coworkers.” She gave you a sweet smile but you could feel the rage that was hidden underneath. But you just rolled your eyes.

“Yep. Had an earful of that info everyday. Thanks.”

“You’re seriously just as bad as mom now when it comes to complaining, sis.” Your aunt finally came out of the bathroom and was currently heading towards your grandmother's room to help her out of bed.

“They could barely organize their files! Madeline couldn’t even train me properly!” You and your aunt just gave each other a knowing look before giving your mom little nods as she went off on another tangent about her coworkers. After that whole spiel, you finally got around to carrying your sweet pit bull, Ripley, into the car trunk (All the boxes were in the moving truck just behind you all).

“God, she’s just a big baby, aren’t you?” Your mom baby talked to the big dog often, who in turn gave a happy bark as if saying ‘I am! You gotta love me!’, your mother then turned to you. “I’m still shocked you can carry her so easily like that… She’s as big as you!” To which you just shrugged. Finally, your aunt came, grandma in one hand and helped the elder woman in the car before taking her seat next to grandma.

“I guarantee you’re gonna love it in California, mauppy.” Your aunt said. She did live in California for almost ten years now, so she was the expert compared to the rest of you. You just rolled your eyes at the nickname and another one of these ‘hey new places to live but you’ll love it!’ talk.

“I think Uncle Scott is gonna be the happiest out of all of us, he’s gonna have his impulse control back.”

“Yeah, he ate two large pizzas by himself in under an hour just the other night.”

“I don’t see what’s wrong, that’s just a Tuesday night.”

“Sweetie. I’m going to marry him in a couple months. Next thing you know he can’t even fit into his tux and just have his whole gut out while we say our vows.” You wince at the image. Yeah that… That looks kind of sad.

“ _Next thing you know you’ll have to roll around your husband to his clients_!” Your grandmother joked around before taking a puff of her inhaler. You all laughed at the thought before you quietly checked your purse for your daily asthma meds and inhaler.

Good. Everything is ready to go.

Goodbye, Home.

Hello, San Francisco.

As you fell asleep during the road trip, you dreamt of a familiar masked man. 

You smiled at the image of his hidden face.

* * *

Finally, it was time to move everything in the new house. Just as you got out of the car, you stood still as if the ice queen herself froze you.

Both your legs were asleep.

“Aw, while your legs are waking up, make sure to help Ripley get used to the new house!” Your aunt said as she helped grandma from the car, you let out a pained groan that your aunt took as an affirmative sound.

After all the boxes were in the house and you got the dog’s bed in your room, you flopped onto your bed. Exhausted to the bone. Unfortunately, you just received a text message. Limply, you flipped yourself over and reached for your phone. 

Oh, It’s Clara! 

It's been a couple years since you’ve seen her. She and Aiden finally got together soon after the whole Damien and Maurice situation, moving in with Aiden’s sister and nephew. Good riddance, they always gave each other googly eyes. 

_So_ gross. 

Wonder how he’s doing now?

You let out an exasperated huff at the memory

Yeah but like… The man has a justice boner sometimes. Not literally but, he tried to catch every. Single. Crime he walks past. That man has never relaxed a day in his life.

Someone got robbed on the street over? Guess who’s already there. The almighty masked vigilante! The man’s probably never relaxed a day in his life, hell, you never even seen the dude take a nap.

God… You already missed Chicago.

You put your phone on charge on top of the nightstand near your bed, turning off the lights and finally getting into bed to sleep off all the work.

Tomorrow is going to be a long ass day.

You can feel it in your gut.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry the San Fran crew haven't made an appearance yet, but they will very very soon!
> 
> My Tumblr (if you wanna request something): [OwlsWritingCafe](https://owlswritingcafe.tumblr.com/)
> 
> My 18+ Twitter (No Minors!): [NightOwlsTeaParty](https://twitter.com/owls_tea)  
> 


	2. Fresh Air and Graffiti

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _“So. You a big fan of hackers?”_
> 
> _“I guess you can say that. ” You may not be able to make a coherent string of codes but you know that vague code speak means: He’s in the group._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the look reader has in this chapter:  
> (The helmet and biker suit is the main canonical look reader has cuz it's important to the fic, underneath you can insert your own look)  
>   
> 

You woke up to the smell of your grandmother’s cooking, checking your phone revealed it was 8 in the damn morning. God you weren’t ready for the strong smells so early in the morning. Looks like Ripley wasn’t either considering she was already away and giving you her big ole puppy eyes that just scream “Walk time? Walk time!”. 

Such a sweetie.

“Let’s get you some breakfast first before we can think of any w-a-l-k-i-e-s, alrighty?” Oh gosh, she gave you a little nod and a gentle ruff, you’re gonna get killed by the cuteness of a pup. Not by any of those burly men with guns that you’re so used to on the job, and obviously, you welcome this kind of death with open arms.

Getting up, you cleaned yourself up from the rest of your grogginess and went to the kitchen to fill up Ripley’s food bowl but not before taking a puff of your daily asthma medicine. 

Gah… The smell of dried fish was getting more and more prominent now. The dried fish your grandma makes for the conge tastes so good but god it smells like the ocean flooded the house and dried up.

“Mom! Did you really have to make that fish so early in the morning?” Looks like your aunt was up and at ‘em too now. Strong smells always did make her grumpier.

“ _It takes so long to fully seep and cook this fish so I should just cook it now!_ ” Your aunt looked as if she was going to pop a blood vessel already.

“Mom. Now the whole house smells like fish. You could have made it tomorrow or even later today!” You just sighed as your aunt and grandma argued, you really didn’t want a headache so early in the morning… 

Ripley was done eating her breakfast so it was time to go for some walkies. Maybe Ripley will make some friends in this neighborhood? You brought out some body spray for yourself to put on once you’re out of the house, your emergency inhaler, then finally you put the pit-bull on her leash. Hopefully a walk around will ease your headache a bit.

So far so good. 

It was sunny and surprisingly nice out, your little pup was letting out some energy and you got some fresh air. You finally arrived at a small dog park, certainly not the park Clara told you about. That hideout is about 20 more minutes away from where you’re currently at.

You sat at one of the benches to give your feet some rest, your little pit-bull laid down next to you on the bench, her head on your lap and wanting you to pet her as you two relaxed. You smiled before slowly starting to go into a daze, your eyelids drooped a bit from the nice temperature and your little friend snored away on your lap before your mind finally started to dream away as you stared into space.

_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_

_Run._

_You needed to run._

_You have to get out of here._

_Opaque silhouettes slithered after you, their limbs contorting as they ran on all fours, letting out whaling cries as if trying to coax you into stopping. Its grotesque body leaving mucus in its wake._

_But it didn’t work._

_It only made you run faster._

_Faster and faster until--_

_You choked._

_The air was knocked out of you as one of the silhouette’s slimy, long arms grabbed one of your legs causing you to fall forward. You tried to crawl away, your nails scratching the concrete below to no avail. You looked behind you to see the mass of disgusting limbs catching up to you, still holding onto your captive leg._

_As you continue to try to get away from the creature, you see another silhouette step in front of you and kneel down, and outstretched as if saying “Here. Let me help you up”. This one was different from the ones trying to chase you, they weren’t contorted or slimy nor did they have any extra limbs on their body._

_You were so close to reaching for that gentle hand when--_

_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_

“Excuse me?” You woke up from your daydream by that new voice trying to get your attention. Looking up, you see a man (probably just a couple years older than you) wearing dark lensed glasses and had a light moustache and a soul patch. You also noted the shirt he wore.

Dedsec.

You wanted to snort. The Chicago branch would instantly kick that person out for wearing something so blatant. They’d hate seeing their name with a face.

“Hey, uh, sorry for intruding, I just wanted to pet your dog. Don’t really see many Pitbulls in this neighborhood.” You raised an eyebrow, most people would be terrified of Ripley and cross the street from you two (Granted, she is a big dog with large scars and cropped ears, you can’t fully blame them for being intimidated.) But you gave the man a little nod, he seemed nice enough.

“Sure, she’d love the attention.” The man immediately went to work, giving Ripley little scratches behind her ears, cooing as she gave him some kisses. 

“What’s her name?”

“Ripley.”

“As in _Ellen Louise Ripley_?”

“Yep. They’re both super tough, so, I just named her accordingly.” You mumbled, god it’s been so long since you had social interaction with a new human. The man just chuckled.

“I can tell, she definitely looks like she been through some stuff.”

You let out a little hum, “She was rescued from one of those dog fighting rings.” He nodded. 

“Poor girl. Looks like she’s in better hands now though.” You chuckled as you scratched behind Ripley’s cropped ears, your eyes wandered back to the man’s Dedsec shirt. Honestly you can’t tell if he’s just a big fan or actually part of the group.

“So. You a big fan of hackers?”

“I guess you can say that. You into what Dedsec has to say?” You may not be able to make a coherent string of codes but you know that vague code speak means: He’s in the group.

“They have some good points. Highlighting vulnerabilities and weaknesses in the CTOS systems, showcasing how Blume truly acts. It’s like embarrassing the prom king on stage, I’m all for that.” The man raised his eyebrows and chuckled.

“You seem to have your share of Dedsec knowledge.”

“I’m from Chicago, they’re a pretty big deal there too. Dunno about here.”

“That explains it. Heard they released some pretty big blackmail over there.” You gave the man a nonchalant hum. Dedsec’s blackmail, huh? Aiden did most of the work though… 

“I heard that too.”

Checking the time it was already almost 12 pm, that fuckin online college got _you_ on a damn leash. Plus, you were getting pretty hungry, you did skip out on breakfast in favor of feeding Ripley.

“Well, I need to be on my way now. Hope you have a nice day.” 

“Oh, you too. I’m Marcus by the way. I have a feeling I might see you again.” Well that sounds only mildly ominous, but, certainly not the worst you’ve heard. The taller man reached out his hand for a handshake, to which you reluctantly shook and gave Marcus your name. 

“It was nice meeting you, Marcus.”

You nudged Ripley a bit to let her know you two were heading home now only for her to whine a bit but obliging. Yeah, you don’t wanna smell like fish again but… You really needed to at least finish the week’s assignments. You gave Marcus a final goodbye wave as you walked home with your dog by your side.

* * *

You flopped onto your bed in defeat.

Why the fuck did this online school have to give you so much work every week? Well, you managed to do a few weeks worth of work and should be free earlier for Dedsec work.

Speaking of, it’s almost time to meet your new “coworkers”. It's time to suit up.

Donning your binder, biker’s helmet and suit, you made sure to test out the helmet’s voice modulator and check for any kinks. Afterwards, it was time for some real clothes! The skin tight biker suit feels pretty breezy despite you not being actually naked. At least the binder makes you look like a super buff guy, not to mention the boots give you some extra height. You really need those 3 extra inches… 

Let’s see… 

Pastel week? Or maybe something vintage? Or perhaps some fall colors would be nice! Sweaters always feel nice. But, it has been a while since you’ve done a punk week… 

Well! It’s been decided! 

Finally, you were ready for work. Giving Ripley a final forehead kiss and head pat, you headed for your destination.

Weird that a notorious hacker group put one of their hideouts in a nerdy tabletop shop. Then again, it doesn’t raise a lot of suspicion on the outside. Looking around, you see a bunch of people rolling their 20 sided dice on the tables. You always did want to play Dungeons and Dragons, never had the time to read up on it though. You walked towards the back, ignoring any wandering eyes. But no one really spoke up against you being there, they looked too scared to even try if they actually wanted to.

Aha. There was the entrance. You pushed in the pass-code Clara gave you and viola! You’re in. You took in the appearance of the entrance down the hackerspace. The graffiti is quite a look. Most of the Dedsec graffiti back home were mostly on CTOS ads or other signposts, this is a stark contrast from those dark hacker rooms in Chicago. But, you certainly didn’t mind it. Actually heading into the space itself revealed it looked more like a hacker’s man cave or hangout spot than a big name hacker group meet up room. Dedsec’s name was graffitied around every inch of the room, the table in the middle was filled with snacks, beers, and some computer equipment, and there were some really old rage comics memes near the 3d printer area.

Looks like you’re the first person here though. You sat at the sofa area, crossing your legs. God, the spaces back home needs a sofa like this instead of those rackety pull out chairs. Just as you were getting used to the appearance of… Everything. The sound of the sliding door and footsteps catches your ears. Guess it was introduction time.

Turning around and facing the first person you got to the space first, you were greeted with a familiar face.

“You guys should have seen Mr. Weak Chin’s face in perso--” The man locked eyes with you as you gave him a little wave.

Marcus. Your instincts had always been pretty on point.

“Who are you and what are you doing here?” His hand was hidden behind him, probably reaching for a weapon to prepare himself from any surprise attacks. You only raise your hands to tell him you don’t mean any harm. Just as you were going to let him know why you’re here, the rest of the crew came down. Marcus wasn’t the only familiar face around here.

Your hidden eyes gazed into familiar digital Xs. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, I said they'd show up very soon, not come in all willy nilly (heheh willy) As I said in the this, this is a sloooow burn fic
> 
> My Tumblr (if you wanna request something): [OwlsWritingCafe](https://owlswritingcafe.tumblr.com/)
> 
> My 18+ Twitter (No Minors!): [NightOwlsTeaParty](https://twitter.com/owls_tea)  
> 

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry the San Fran crew haven't made an appearance yet, but they will very very soon!
> 
> My Tumblr (if you wanna request something): [OwlsWritingCafe](https://owlswritingcafe.tumblr.com/)
> 
> My 18+ Twitter (No Minors!): [NightOwlsTeaParty](https://twitter.com/owls_tea)  
> 


End file.
